This is Kapitan Panda again, presenting to you a new chapter for series SPIES! Seriously? Hope you enjoy! :D

To Natsu Kaneshiro and Kasumi X Szayel Aporro and the people who viewed this for enjoyment's sake, thank you for inspiring me to continue writing the story! 3 :3

SPIES! Seriously?

CHAPTER 2

Okay, so I'm sorry for not mentioning it earlier.

I didn't really live a simple life, actually. Neither did my best friends.

We're spies working for an international intelligence-gathering organization known as CHERUB. We were single-handedly picked by an anonymous man who speaks with us through a microphone.

That doesn't really ease our minds because it makes him seem like a pervert. He, however, stated that it is for our protection, but that doesn't change the fact that he could be a pervert. After all, what is behind that microphone anyway? A camera?

Moving on…

According to him, our prowess in martial arts, and our ability to work functionally as a team caught his and the other members' attentions. When we found out that we were going to be spies, Lei-Fang and Tina were thrilled with the excitement it could bring. I wasn't because I wanted a peaceful life. Also, I didn't know how to put the spying thing into my daily routine.

And besides… it reminded me of something painful…

And yet here we are, sliding down a drain hole and into a pool of fresh water inside the organization. I don't really understand the structure of the building, but it allows us to arrive here quicker than say a limousine or an airplane.

The three of us tried to stand up, but we ended up slipping. My hair frizzed, probably because of the high chlorine content in the pool. Lei-Fang's hair became messy too, so is Tina's and we all weren't happy about it.

"Ugh! When are you going to stop surprising us, M?!" Lei-Fang growled at the microphone. I can't say I don't agree with her. By the way, M is our nickname for the anonymous man behind the microphone.

"Yeah, I mean seriously, our hair is too delicate for chlorine. Now my shiny hair's ruined." Tina complained, clearly disappointed with the way M summoned us. We all placed our hands on our hips.

The microphone started to talk. "Come on ladies, how else can I bring you here unseen? It's for your own protection. Think of it that way."

M did have a point. We were spies after all.

Wait, let me correct that. Teenage spies. We were vulnerable to any type of harm whatsoever, maybe M took this into account too. He cared about us a lot, I guess.

"Alright, you got this round. But still, wouldn't it be nice to transport us here in a more discreet way? I mean, seriously, a moving bench in a university?" I commented, shrugging my shoulders. The other girls nodded and chuckled.

There was a slight groan coming from the microphone. "Alright, fine. I'll make it more discreet next time."

I smiled. "Anyway, what's the mission?"

We sat down on the couch right next to the mini pool. The microphone talked and the computer screen opened, revealing a map and images of people who I presume are missing, or probably dead.

Let's not think of it that way…

M presumed to discuss about it. "These are the people who were last seen in a subway train heading towards Shibuya. For some unknown reason, they all just disappeared without a trace. Other parts of the world are also experiencing the same thing—and they also can't explain why."

"Exactly which parts of the world?" Lei-Fang asked.

"China, UK, the United States and Russia." M answered, discontented by the scale of the situation.

That's awful…

"And you want us to find out anything, right?" Tina replied as Lei-Fang and I continued to think about the incident, hoping to at least give a good explanation as to what could've caused this.

M agreed. "Precisely."

The three of us stood up from the couch. "Thanks, M. We'll keep you posted if ever we discover anything." I spoke as we proceeded to the door.

"Stay safe now, ladies. Good luck."

…

Hayabusa-san was our gadgets dealer. His antique shop has all kinds of things, from shrunken heads to rocking chairs all the way to iPads and computers.

Hey, don't ask me why. Even if I work part time here, I still can't comprehend why he'd sell those modern technologies alongside the older, more historical artifacts.

It's an irony, really.

Lei-Fang knocked on the door leading to the inside of the shop. "Hello? Is anyone in here?"

Hayabusa-san opened the door for us. "Good afternoon, ladies. Your boss informed me about your arrival." With a show of his hand, he signaled us to come in. "This way."

Lei-Fang and I bowed towards him (it was customary in East Asian culture to bow towards an elder as a sign of respect) while Tina gave him a strong slap on his back as she entered. Judging from his facial expression, he didn't seem pleased. Lei-Fang and I, much to our chagrin, smiled sheepishly.

So much for our calm entrance.

…

We reached a small meeting room, which had a tranquil atmosphere. On the table were three cups of what smelled like jasmine tea, and most probably our gadgets.

We all sat down on the cushions placed on the tatami floor. Hayabusa-san briefed us on our gadgets. "Judging from the information your boss told me about, you'll need only a few gadgets for this mission.

"We have the ice hair sprayer, which can freeze anything you wish; the GPS sunglasses, the earrings communication device and finally, the net-shooting umbrella."

Hayabusa-san threw differently-designed bags towards us which contained most of our gadgets. After finishing our teas and bidding him our goodbyes, we headed towards Shibuya Station to find out where the missing passengers are and what actually happened.

It's going to be a long day.

SHIBUYA STATION 3:00 PM

Shibuya Station was very crowded when we arrived. We struggled through a multitude of body odors and sweat to reach the crime scene. When we did, a number of policemen were examining the area—taking pictures and interviewing people about what they've witnessed. Everyone seems to be waiting for the next train. I don't think they've allowed one particular train to move (that's probably the one that held the previous passengers right before they went missing) so everyone's riding the other one, thinking it's safer.

I hope they're not wrong.

Lei-Fang spoke up first, noticing the DO NOT CROSS line. "You think we can convince the police about investigating the area?"

"Even if we did, how can we investigate without looking suspicious?" I commented as I took note of the number of people in our line of sight.

"Well, let's pose as journalists. The police won't even notice!" Tina suggested with a smirk on her face.

Hey, that might actually work.

We immediately ran to the nearest girls' restroom. Luckily, as we entered, no one was in sight. Using our special beepers which M handed to us on our first mission, we changed our civilian outfits to formal attires.

We didn't look so bad, after all.

The three of us headed towards the crime scene again. I asked Tina to convince the police that we're journalists tasked to cover only bits of information on the incident, and that we won't take too long. After all, it's her brilliant idea.

"Alrighty! Y'all just wait for me. I'll be back with a thumbs-up!" Tina remarked with a wink as she went to the head of the police to relay what I told her earlier. After a few minutes of witnessing the head investigator's changing facial expressions—from bewilderment (by her physical appearance, I'm guessing) to angry to calm—we were finally allowed to have a closer look at the area. Tina ran back to us with a huge smile on her face, clearly happy with her achievement. Lei-Fang and I smiled back at her, then we proceeded to the area.

We split up and took different roles—Lei-Fang interviewed the police alongside Tina who recorded everything word by word. I scanned the area, hoping to find some more clues. Eventually, after a few minutes of looking, I discovered a ring with a Free Mason-like logo, only with a sun occupying the middle of the triangle.

I wonder how it's connected to the train incident…

I called the other girls to check it out. They eventually ran towards me. I showed them the ring, and once they looked at it closely, they found it… weird.

It's not something a spy would say, but oh well…

"That's one ring I wouldn't want on my ring finger." Tina spoke out, completely grossed out by its design.

"Let's scan it and wait for M's analysis on it." Lei-Fang replied as she took out her beeper and scanned the ring. An e-mail was sent to M's beeper.

"What should we do, Kasumi?" Tina asked.

I thought about it. "Hmm… well, let's sneak in here tonight before the train leaves for its final destination. If anything happens, we'll act on it for sure."

The three of us agreed to come here together sometime before midnight. After thanking the police for everything, we headed back home to prepare for tonight's events.

Soon, it's spy time.

Chapter 3 is coming soon! I'll keep you updated. Review if you want to! :D